Chattahoochee Tech News

Chattahoochee Technical College announced today the winner of the Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction, a statewide program initiated by the Technical College System of Georgia to honor outstanding instructors at the System’s 25 member institutions. Hollie Queen was named as the school’s winner. The announcement was made today at a luncheon honoring GOAL and Rick Perkins nominees, finalists, and winners.

“I’m excited, humbled and honored to have been chosen,” said Queen.

Queen, who teaches Early Childhood Care and Education, was chosen from a list of three finalists for the title, including Amy Denney, who teaches Adult Education at the Appalachian Campus and Kevin Ruby, who teaches Automotive Technology at the Marietta Campus.

Queen will now compete against the winners from other technical colleges in Georgia at the regional level. The regional level of the competition includes Georgia technical college winners from the northern area of the state for the region Rick Perkins Award title. Each region will then select two finalists whose names will be announced in April at the annual Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership and Rick Perkins Award conference. Those finalists will participate in an additional screening process for the state Rick Perkins Award title.

Each phase consists of a brief 5-7 minute introduction by the nominee to a panel of three judges followed by a 12-15 minute interview session. The winner of this award will carry the title of Instructor of the Year and will receive several nice gifts. The state winner receives $1,000 and a crystal award.

“I went into higher education to make a difference,” said Queen. “All my life I’ve wanted to make a difference. While I was having an impact on children, I wanted that at the other end of the spectrum. I wanted to make a paradigm shift in education.”

The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction began in 1991 and is designed to recognize and honor technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields. Formerly known as the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence, the Rick Perkins Award was renamed in memory and honor of Thomas “Rick” Perkins, an instructor at West Central Technical College, who received the Commissioner’s Award immediately prior to his untimely death.